Hofstra beats William & Mary in CAA conference opener
Hofstra's Isaac Kante pulls a rebound on Jan. 2, 2021. Credit: Hofstra University/Philip Hinds/Hofstra
Hofstra acting men’s basketball coach Mike Farrelly looked at the boxscore after the Pride’s Colonial Athletic Association opener against visiting William & Mary on Saturday and didn’t like certain numbers.
He wasn’t happy with the fact that the Pride shot 2-for-18 (11%) on three-pointers and 11-for-19 (58%) from the foul line, or that they allowed 15 offensive rebounds.
But the only number that truly counts for defending CAA champion Hofstra is the final score, a 61-56 win. Oh, and don’t forget about the Pride’s CAA record, right, Coach?
"It’s 1-0. However you get it, be excited," he said. "To get to 1-0 in the conference? Ugly? Pretty? A million points? Sixty-one points? That doesn’t matter."
The Pride defense — an aggressive 2-3 zone — limited William & Mary to 32% shooting (20-for-62). Hofstra entered the game tied for third in the CAA in field-goal percentage defense (.436). The Pride are 33-1 the last seven-plus seasons when holding an opponent below 60 points and have won 29 straight games.
Hofstra (5-3, 1-0) trailed for a total of only 2 minutes, 15 seconds. Still, after falling behind by as many as 14 points, William & Mary climbed to within 57-54 when Miguel Ayesa drilled a three-pointer with 55.6 seconds remaining.
After a free throw from Isaac Kante (15 points, 14 rebounds) gave Hofstra a four-point lead, Tareq Coburn (13 points) made a steal on William & Mary’s next possession, was fouled and hit a free throw to give Hofstra a 59-54 lead with 15.5 seconds left.
After a layup by Luke Loewe, who carried William & Mary (2-4, 0-1) with 27 points, made it 59-56 with 8.9 seconds to go, the Pride made two free throws on two separate trips to the foul line to grind out the victory.
Caleb Burgess added nine points, seven assists and seven rebounds for Hofstra.
"It wasn’t a pretty win, like Coach said to us [after the game]," Kante said. "But we’re going to give the best version of ourselves [Sunday].’’
In the brave new world of college basketball during a pandemic, as part of the CAA’s policy to limit teams’ travel, the teams will play for the second time in two days at Hofstra at 2 p.m. Sunday.
